Original first half is followed by a good, but by the numbers second

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2005)

The story of a plague that has turned most of the population in to crazed "zombies" is for the most part a great new twist on the now well worn tale. Danny Boyle has created a wonderful horror classic that takes you into new territory just when you've begun to think you've seen it all before.
The first half of this film is some of the best horror film making of the last twenty years or so. Simply put a man wakes up from a coma to find the world in ruins and most of the world now blood thirsty monsters. Staggering around England he ends up with a group of people who try to get out of the city to a safe place in the country. Filled with great set pieces this part of the film raises your expectations for a bang up second half and the genre itself.
Unfortunately the military arrive and things shift gears as the movie becomes something else. Its not a totally bad change, what happens is quite good, but after a first half t which effectively rewrites the rules of the genre we get a tale that seems like we've been there and done that. The flight to the countryside becomes literally housebound and it stagnates in ideas that are good but which we've already seen.
That said, see this movie. Its a great kick in the pants, even if the second half isn't on the classic level of the first.